Petra Starlight and the Ten Soldiers
by Egyptian Samurai
Summary: When Paninya agrees to look after some kids, she comes in with the story of "Petra Starlight and the Ten Soldiers", a rewritten version of the fairy tale, "Snow White". As she reads out loud to the kids, the story comes to life in their imaginations. While she struggles to fight her fears, will Petra be able escape from Envy, her worst childhood nightmare? Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, it's Egyptian Samurai here. I was planning to post this new story last night, but then I got sidetracked, which sucks in my opinion, right? But hey, what do you do? Anyways, important note to the people who are reading/following my "Snow Vampires" story, I haven't given up on it. I'll try to have the second part of chapter two up and running as soon as I can. And this was an idea of retelling the classic fairy tale of "Snow White" with anime characters that I couldn't get out of my head, and I just HAD to write and post it. I hope that this is good enough for me to post the next chapter. AND I DO NOT OWN THE TWO HIT ANIME/MANGA SERIES OF "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST" OR "SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN" OR THE FAIRY TALE OF "SNOW WHITE". THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR ORIGINAL OWNERS. THE ONLY THING THAT I OWN FROM HERE IS MY OC, OLIVIA. This is for entertainment purposes only! :-)**

**Just to warn you, some parts of the story, but the beginning especially, is REALLY SLOW and some of the characters maybe a little "OOC", so just bear with me for now. But other than that, I hope that you all enjoy this version of the fairy tale being retold with anime characters. And this story is for you Shingekinops4, I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing this. Okay then, are we all ready? Here we go... ;-D**

**Petra Starlight and the Ten Soldiers**

**_Summary:_****_ When Paninya takes up on an offer to look after Mayes and Gracia Hughes' daughters, Nina, Olivia and Elicia, she comes in with an old story book, which is a retelling of the classic fairy tale of Snow White. And as Paninya and the three little girls read the story, their vivid imagination comes to life as they follow the tale of a beautiful, young Princess named Petra Starlight. Along the way of this incredible journey of self-discovery, dreams, faith, hope, and love, Petra meets new friends as she struggles to find a way to escape from her past and fight her worst enemy before she gets dragged back into her childhood nightmare for all eternity… _**

**_INTRODUCTION: It's Story Time!_**

_"When's Paninya going to be here?" asked a young twelve-year-old paled skinned deep, olive-green eyed and dirty blonde long-haired girl dressed in a light pink short-sleeved dress with a matching pair of shoes and a scarlet red sweatshirt._

_"She'll be here in about five to ten minutes, Elicia. I know you're excited, and Olivia and I are too, but try to be patient, okay?" Nina replied with a smile on her face. Nina is a young thirteen year old girl with pale skin tone, sapphire blue eyes and dark brown hair which was pulled back into two pigtail braids that reached all the way down her back. She was clothed in a long-sleeved white shirt with a light blue dress and cute little brown shoes._

_Nina and another girl ten years of age named Olivia were recently adopted by their new foster family, Mayes and Gracia Hughes and their little daughter, Elicia. Olivia had short, silvery blonde hair, pale tan skin tone, purplish blue eyes with a hint of green, and she often wore a light purple dress, some dark green shorts, a white sweater that matched her shoes. And for the past few months, Nina and Olivia were able to settle in fairly quickly and they became fast friends with Elicia. They weren't just close friends, but they also became more like sisters._

_A few moments later, the silence of the room was broken by the sound of knocking on the door. Nina then rushed to the front door of their apartment building with Olivia and Elicia following closely behind her when they watched Gracia place her hand on the door knob and twist it to the right. As Gracia pulled the door open towards herself, there stood Paninya, a girl between the ages of sixteen and nineteen who had deep tan skin tone, navy blue eyes, and dark brown shoulder length hair that was swept back into a low, loose ponytail with a cherry red coloured hair tie. She was clothed in a pair of deep olive-green sweatpants, a dark blue tank top, along with a pair of jet black leather boots and a matching jet black leather jacket. She also had her dark purple backpack over her shoulders while she had a silver watch wrapped around her left wrist._

_"Good evening, Mrs. Hughes. Hi girls. How's everybody doing tonight?" Paninya greeted politely as she beamed at everyone that smiled warmly back at her._

_"Why hello, Paninya, I'm glad to see with my own eyes that you've made here. It's very nice to see you again. And we're all doing very well, thank you. And what about yourself, are you having a splendid evening so far?" Gracia nodded in reply. Then she stepped aside for a moment before she said, "Come on in."_

_"It's going great, thanks." Paninya stepped inside of the apartment and slid her backpack and leather jacket off of her shoulders. As soon as she shut the door behind her, she went through the list of expectations with Gracia and with her husband, Mayes Hughes before they gave Paninya a quick tour of their apartment and the way to the guest room she was staying in._

_"Is there a certain time that you guys want me to have the girls in bed by?" Paninya asked while she carried her backpack and jacket over to the guest bed. She placed them gently on the bed while she unzips her backpack open and begins to rummage through it in search of something._

_"Um, we usually have them in bed between nine-fifteen and nine-thirty, but for the next few nights, they can stay up no later than between ten and ten-thirty." Mayes only smiled back as slightly readjusted his reading glasses with one finger._

_"Okay then thanks. I'll be sure to have them fast asleep by then." Paninya nodded as she felt herself smile in victory as she pulled out a rectangular-shaped object out of her backpack._

_After Paninya unpacked some of her stuff into her room she then helped Mr. and Mrs. Hughes carry their luggage down the elevators and outside of the apartment building where their car was waiting for them. Then, when they bid their good byes to both their three little girls and Paninya, Gracia told them, "Now remember girls, be on your best behaviour for the next few days, and do as Paninya says. She's in charge of things around here until we get back. And most importantly, stay safe and remember to have fun."_

_"Okay mom. Okay dad. We will." All three girls, Nina, Elicia, and Olivia, chirped at the same time._

_"And Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, you guys have nothing to fear. I will do everything I can to make sure that your daughters are safe and above all happy until you return. I also hope that everything goes well up in Central City. And thanks for putting your trust in me to letting me do this. " Paninya added. _

_"No, thank you. Thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule to spend some time with our girls. Well, we've got to get going now. Have a good time girls, and listen to Paninya. Bye now!" Mayes called out as he and Gracia made their way out of the apartment building, got into their car, and drove off to their destination. _

_As the girls waved at their parents while they watched the car they were in disappear into the distance, Paninya smiled broadly as she thought aloud, "Time to get this party started…" Then she turned to the girls and shouted, "Who's up for a trip to the park?!"_

_All three girls raised their hands high up in the air and shouted back, "ME!"_

_"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!" Paninya smiled and laughed as she and the rest of the girls began to make their way to the playground._

_After a few hours of running around at the park, and playing some rounds of 'Hide and Seek', Paninya and the rest of the girls hurried back to the apartment to get ready for supper. When they had finished preparing and washing up, all four girls sat at the dining table to enjoy a simple yet delicious meal with a dish of ripe apples and some berries, a pot full of hot, spicy spaghetti and meat balls plus tomato sauce, and a loaf warm fresh garlic bread. They also had a pitcher full of sweet, sugary lemonade to drink, and of course they each had one large slice of red velvet flavoured cake which was covered with pure white frosting along two large scoops of ice cream that had a mix of three different flavours which consisted of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. _

_And as soon as the dishes were done and the kitchen was cleaned up, Nina got up and ran to her room to get ready for bed with Olivia and Elicia following closely behind her. Around ten minutes later, the girls were all ready for bed when Olivia asked, "Can we do something fun before we go to bed?"_

_"Sure. How about we all read a nice, heartwarming story?" Paninya suggested as she came out her room in her night-clothes, which was a simple light gray over-sized t-shirt with a pair of dark gray bottoms, with her hands behind her back. She then made her way over to the couch while the three girls trailed after her giggling and whispering in excitement. Then, they all felt their eyes grow big as dinner plates and the smiles on their faces spread widely across their innocent, childlike faces._

_"Here it is girls. The story of 'Petra Starlight and the Ten Soldiers' written by Julia Crichton and illustrated by __Catherine Elle Armstrong_... What do you think?" the young dark-haired teenage girl smiled proudly.

_"It looks awesome!" Nina cried out. "But what is it? Is it like some old classic fairy tale that was recently rewritten by some famous author who uses similar characters that follow closely to the original plot?"_

_"You betcha it is. I just thought that since this story was one of my childhood favorites, maybe that you guys would like it too." Paninya explained. Then she continued, "It's based off of the original classic fairy tale of Snow White, which was kind of bland in my opinion, since it was so short and slow and it didn't have much for descriptive details. But in this version, there's action, adventure, suspense, monsters, magic, fights, true love, you name it. So it's basically the same, except that it's a better version than the original because it's using different yet similar characters with so many plot twists in it."_

_"Can we read it now?" Olivia stared up at Paninya with wide, round eyes, begging her to say 'yes'._

_"Sure. Hop up here and have a seat." Paninya then let the book fall onto her lap, and flipped it to the very first page as the girls then climbed upon the couch. "Okay then, here we go…"_

Long ago, in a time of kings and queens, ogres and dragons, witches and wizards, and of course knights and princesses, there once existed a tiny noble kingdom known as Resembool. The kingdom itself was blessed with the following breath-taking landscape. This land had green bountiful forests, tall mountains with snow-covered peaks, clear blue skies, sparkling lakes and rivers, rolling grassy hills and valleys, and beautiful huge meadows dotted with millions of wildflowers that came in different shapes and sizes and bright colours. Not only was this kingdom filled with these marvelous landscape qualities of a magnificent masterpiece, but it was also graced with magic, ever joy, and peace.

The tiny kingdom was filled with mystical creatures and humans that lived together in peaceful harmony for over hundreds of years, and it was also ruled by the beloved King Van Hohenheim and Queen Trisha Elric. For so many years since the day of their marriage they had yearned for a child of their own to love and care for. One winter's evening there were small delicate silvery snowflakes that danced in the cool, crisp breeze and the pearly white full moon that lit up the starry night sky. Around this time, the Queen, Trisha, was preoccupied with watching fresh snowflakes fall from the sky while she sewing hand-made golden tassels onto a tapestry. While she was doing this, Trisha accidentally pricked her finger with the needle and three small drops of blood fell upon the clean surface of the gleaming snow.

Then, she gasped when she saw how beautiful the colour of the red blood looked against the pure white snow.

As she felt tears form in the corner of her eyes, she thought to herself, 'If only I had a child that has lips a pale shade of red as blood, with long hair that's as dark as golden brown, skin pure as the white snow, and eyes as gold as the fiery stars in the night sky.'

A year had passed since that day the Queen realized what she truly wanted, Trisha and her husband's wish finally came true. She soon found out that she was pregnant with her firstborn child, and then after nine months had passed, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. A princess was born, and she was blessed with pale rosy lips, pure white skin tone, along with a warm pink blush that lightly brushed over her cheekbones, dark golden brown hair, and a pair of amber coloured eyes with a hint of gold that glowed brightly like two fiery stars in the night sky.

"She's beautiful Van…" Trisha smiled as she sat up with the tiny infant in her arms. The little princess was wrapped up in a warm, blue and white blanket, shielding her tiny, frail body from the winter's bitter cold.

"No Trisha, she's not beautiful… She's perfect." The king took his newborn daughter out of his wife's tired arms and into his arms and smiled down at her.

Not only was she born with the beautiful features Queen Trisha wanted, but on the night of her birth, the shimmery light of the silvery full moon seemed to capture and accent those features as well. Therefore, because of the way how her golden eyes sparkled like pure diamond like the night stars, King Van and Queen Trisha named their beloved little princess, Petra Starlight.

Now, Petra was not just your typical princess that most people would guess she would be. She was very sweet, so innocent, and was very kind and gentle, as well as courageous and compassionate to everyone who met her. She was adored deeply by everyone in her kingdom, but no one loved Petra as much as her parents did. Petra also cared deeply for her people, family and the few friends she made over the first few years of her life, but she was especially close to her mother and father.

A few years had passed since the night of her birth, and Petra's beauty had already begun to grow. Then when she was two and a half years old, she suddenly became a big sister to two new younger brothers. The first brother, who was two-year and a half years younger than Petra, had golden-blonde hair that reached a little ways past his shoulders, chalky pale skin tone, and two golden eyes just like his big sister, was named was Edward Elric. Edward, or also known as 'Ed' or 'Brother' for short, hated it whenever Petra teased him about his height or him throwing bad temper tantrums.

And the second brother, who was one year younger than Ed, and the youngest member of the Royal Family, had short dirty blonde hair and dark chocolate-brown eyes, and milky skin tone just like the rest of his family. His name as Alphonse, or also known as 'Al', and he was definitely more mature for his age than Ed ever was.

Both Ed and Al often called their big sister 'Petra', 'or just 'Starlight', but most of the time they just call her by her regular name as their parents always did. Petra always had time to have fun with her two little brothers, and they always spent their free time running around and playing games, whether they were inside or outside of the castle. The King and Queen loved and cared for their children, and they always gave them the time to play around whenever they want, as long as they did as they were told. And from that moment on, everything in the Royal Family of Resembool was perfect.

However, tragedy struck when Petra was eleven years old and Edward was nine years old while Alphonse turned eight. An unknown epidemic suddenly broke out and spread across the kingdom for the causes of it were unknown, and Queen Trisha had fallen gravely ill to it. One day, King Van called in all three of his children to meet up with him and Queen Trisha in their personal quarters. When Petra and her brothers peeked in through the doorway, they felt their eyes with fear as they were struck with a sudden realization. As they entered into the Royal Chambers, the children ran to the bedside to see Trisha lying in the bed dressed in her light blue night-gown with the scarlet red warm blankets pulled all the way up past her shoulders. Her dark brown hair was damp and spread out all over the pillow she rested her head upon, and her beautiful dark grayish blue coloured eyes looked weak and tired while her entire face was awfully pale.

Petra and her brothers then suddenly cried out, "MOM! NO!"

_**Author's Note:**__** Okay, I know that some parts of this are boring, but I hope that I didn't do too bad here, and I guess that there's always room to improve. I just hope that I did okay overall. But at least we got into the actual story line. I'll also try to keep the chapters at a reasonable length so that way I won't bore you all to death. Aside from that, I hope you still enjoy it, and don't worry about having to tell me about my grammar/spelling mistakes or my repeating words, they're easy to ignore. And don't forget to rate and review if you please. AND NO RUDE COMMENTS PLEASE, or else they will be taken down the moment I see them. Anyways, thanks for reading and supporting me, I really appreciate that. Bye for now, and see you all next time. ;-)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Author's Note:_****_ Hi guys, it's Egyptian Samurai again. Since I had nothing better to do and that there is no school this week, I thought that I could post the next chapter of this fanfiction today. So yeah, heheheheh... AGAIN, I DO NOT OWN THE TWO HIT ANIME/MANGA SERIES OF "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST" OR "SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN" OR THE ORIGINAL FAIRY TALE OF "SNOW WHITE". THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR ORIGINAL OWNERS. THE ONLY THING THAT I OWN FROM HERE IS MY OC, OLIVIA. This is for entertainment purposes only! ;-)_**

**_Now, things you need to be aware of... First off, some people are going to be a little "OOC", and some parts of this are REALLY SLOW. Izumi Curtis and her husband, Sig, and their son, whose from FMA, are making their first appearance in this chapter. And since Izumi's son, who only appeared in the original and is a Homunculus named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Wrath, and we don't actually know what his real name is, he is a human in this fanfiction and his name will be Sky. I'm just giving you guys a heads up before I start the story so that way no one will be confused about anything, okay? ;-) Alright then, are we all ready for this chapter? Here we go... ;-)_**

_**CHAPTER ONE: TRAGIC DEATH AND SORROWFUL TEARS**_

_"So what do you guys think so far?" Paninya asked as she glanced up from the book and looked at the girls for their input on the story._

_"This story is really good. Please read more, please Paninya!" All three girls stared back at Paninya with wide starry eyes._

_"Alright then. You guys are in for such a treat. I'm so glad I brought this with me instead of just sitting around doing nothing." Paninya only smiled back at the girls before she flipped the page over and continued to read the story._

"Mom!" Petra cried out again as she ran and sat on the bedside next to her mother's weak body, and she felt steaming hot tears stream down her childlike face. She felt her mother's hand lightly brush her tears away and take the girl's hand into her own, giving it a light, gentle squeeze. Ed and Al followed their sister and hopped onto the other side of their parents' bed and they both took their mother's other hand into their own small hand, squeezing it gently.

"Sweetheart… I'm so glad you and your brothers are here with me right now. But you must listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. I'm too sick and weak, and I won't be able to be with you nor your father much longer…" Trisha began to speak in a soft tone of voice before she broke into a huge fit of coughing.

"Mom, please stay! You can't go! We need you here. Please…" Ed sobbed as he and Al squeezed their mother's hand with their own two hands again.

"Ed… Al… Petra…" the Queen tried again before she continued. "I'll do the best I can to stay with you before the hour of my death is upon me. And as I've said before, my time as Queen of Resembool and in this world is nearly up. Soon, when you come of age, all three of you will become Resembool's next Kings and Queen…" She broke into another fit of coughing when she looked her children and husband in the eyes. "So what I'm trying to say is this… Remember that I will always love you for who you are, and that will never change. Be good to your father, your subjects and the rest of this kingdom. Be yourself, and do not let anyone change you for their own personal amusement. Stay strong, and remember to always believe in yourself. Do this, and no matter where you are, you'll nothing to fear."

"We will, Mummy… I love you." Al felt more tears well up in his eyes.

"And Van, promise me one thing. Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll keep our children safe from anything that could possibly be posing as a threat to them…" Trisha whispered loud enough for both all three children and the King to hear her.

"Of course I will Trisha… I'll keep them safe and happy for as much as I can enable, my love… And that's a promise I intend to keep, no matter what." Van replied his voice all shaky and filled with sadness that could not be contained.

"Thank you my dear husband." Trisha managed to say when she saw something around her neck and on her nightstand the gleam in the dim candlelight. Then, she realized that it her star-shaped locket that was coloured in gold and silver, that had a circle of tiny diamonds on the surface of the pendant with a small heart-shaped sky blue sapphire in the dead center. The pendant itself hung on a long silvery golden chain, and when she saw it, Trisha used one ounce of her remaining strength to raise her hand up to her neck and unclasp the necklace from around her neck. After she glanced at it for just a short moment, Trisha placed the locket in Petra's empty hands and cupped the right side of her face with her hand.

The King also reached out for the two items that sat near the edge of the nightstand, and stared down at them with tears in his eyes. One item was a silver pocket-watch that had a compass inside, which was decorated with a scarlet red transmutation circle on the lid and was hooked on a long, silver chain. And the other object was a black rectangular shaped sketchbook that also had a silvery golden transmutation circle imprinted on the front, which contained documents on the history and concepts of the kingdom of Resembool, their culture and landscape, magic and alchemy. Van then placed the silver pocket-watch in Ed's hands before he handed the sketchbook to Al.

"Thank you Father. We love them." Ed and Al chirped at the same time as they held up their gifts up close and studied them carefully.

"You're welcome, my sons." The King nodded and smiled sadly down at his sons before he pulled both of them into his arms for a tight embrace.

"But Mother, that's your necklace isn't it? Don't you need it?" Petra asked holding the star-shaped locket up close to her face as she studied its fine detail before the Queen raised her hands up to put it around her child's neck.

"Yes, but it's yours now. You need it more than I do, and when you're older, you'll understand why. So please take it, and then I'll always be with you…" The queen sighed to herself as she felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier by the minute.

"I love you Mom…" Al, Ed and Petra whispered in a low voice when they felt their father's arms wrap around the backs of their shoulders.

"I love you too… I always have… And I always will… Always…" And with that, Queen Trisha slowly closed her eyelids and with one last sigh, she drew her last breath.

"Mummy? Mummy, wake up." Al gently shook his mother's shoulder.

"Trisha…" King Van gasped when both he and his three children realized that it had already happened.

"Mom… No…" Ed then collapsed onto his stomach next to their mother's limp corpse.

"MOTHER, NO! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE US!" Petra cried out before she found herself lost in her father's arms in a warm, gentle embrace.

Van held Petra, Ed, and Al close to himself as his children buried their faces in his shoulder and wept. He gently stroked the top of their heads with one hand while he used his other arm to support the rest of their small bodies. The King continued to hold the two little Princes and Princess in his arms while they continued to cry into his shoulder. The children cried and cried until such time has passed that they fell asleep one by one from wasting the rest of their remaining strength on having a major meltdown. Afterwards, the King took the sleeping children that was in his arms up the stairs to their room, and put them to bed, one child at a time.

Since that fateful day, good King Van had to take care of Ed, Al, Petra and the people of Resembool all on his own without the guidance and cheerful spirit of Queen Trisha by his side. The kingdom fell into despair when they heard of the Queen's unexpected death when she was diagnosed with some sort of unknown but deadly illness that couldn't be cured. Even the kingdom's finest doctors like Doctor Tim Marcoh nor his apprentice, Sheska, couldn't find a way of treating the illness. But no one was as devastated over her death as King Van or all three of his children.

And as each day passed by like the wind, Princess Petra Starlight grew more and more beautiful than the last. And her kind and innocent heart which was still full of courageous compassion and care grew stronger with each moment's content. She, Ed and Al had already begun to grow taller and stronger with age, as well as their intelligent minds grew sharper too. Even though Ed hated admitting it, he was shortest person in the Royal Family while Al, despite him being the youngest, grew taller than Ed, and Petra was the tallest child out of all of them in spite of her age.

But sometimes Petra felt as if that her grieving had got the best of her that she would cry for hours on end until she fell asleep and then woke up the next day in her room. But she also knew that she had to stay strong for her father, her bothers, and her people in order to keep moving, so whenever she got emotionally upset or hurt, she would go off on her own and try to calm down before going on to the next thing. And she of course would never let anyone see her cry unless it was in front of her father, or her brothers, or a few of the members of the staff.

And what made it even worse was that a year after the time of Queen Trisha's death, Ishval had declared war upon Resembool. One day, before he and his two sons left for the war against the Ishvalans, King Van had entrusted upon the residents of the Curtis clan, a wealthy family that was close friends with the Royal family to take care of his children and the kingdom while he was away.

This family, who was entrusted to take care of Petra and her brothers, was Lord Sig, Lady Izumi, and their only eight-year-old son named Sky. Sky had milky skin tone, deep indigo eyes, and shoulder-length jet black hair that always seemed to mask more than half of his face. On the day he left, the King quickly embraced Petra before he let Ed and Al bid their goodbyes to their sister.

"Do you guys have to go?" the young Princess glanced upwards at her father's face which expressed a mix of sadness and determination.

"You'll be alright, Petra. Since Lord Sig isn't well enough to come with us, he and the rest of his family have promised to take care of you while we're gone." The King replied as he gently wiped Petra's tears away with one soft stroke of his thumb.

"Don't worry about us Petra. We'll be okay. And besides, we're going to show those Ishvalans what we're made of and make you and Mom proud. Right Al?" Ed smiled sadly as he and Al wrapped their arms around Petra, capturing her in a warm, gentle embrace.

"Yeah, that's right Brother. We'll be back soon. And remember what Mom said to us before she died, 'Always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear.' And also remember that you're never alone, and that we will always be with you and so will she." Al nodded in agreement.

Petra paused for a moment before she said, "Okay then. Good luck out there. And promise me one thing: Don't die on me. I can't afford to lose another person that I really love and care about."

And then, as she watched her father and her little brothers mount their noble steeds before they set off into the horizon where the sun had set beneath the mountain tops with their army of best troops following closely behind them. And before she knew it, she felt tears stream down her face as she continued to watch Resembool's finest soldiers make their way to Ishval until they had completely vanished into the distance. The young Princess then felt something tug on her hand, and saw that it was Sky trying to pull her back into the castle while Izumi slid her arm around the sulking girl's shoulders. Later on that night, Petra lied awake in bed holding her mother's star-shaped locket that hung around her slender-shaped neck close to her heart. After she spent the rest of the evening shut up in her room having a huge meltdown over her life, she then glanced out her bedroom window and she felt more tears form in the corners of her eyes as she whispered to no one in particular.

"Father… Ed… Al… Come home soon… Please… I- I beg of you, please… Come home…"

And with that, Petra then let out the last few tears she had left inside of her before she pulled a blanket over her tiny body and felt the darkness of the night take over her mind.

_Several Weeks Later…_

Many days had passed since Ed and Al departed from Resembool to Ishval for the civil war with their father and their finest troops. The days of being away from what remains of their family in the war in order to protect their kingdom phased into weeks, which then slowly melted into long months of endless battles of a countless number of lives being lost. Food, water, and shelter became very scarce, and a lot of children were left orphaned and homeless with no means of any family willing to take them in and care for them. When the war finally came to an end, only Ed, Al, and a handful of King Van's army survived while the rest of them had fallen in honor of serving and protecting their homeland.

One night, on the very same night that the Elric Brothers and the handful of soldiers left returned to Resembool in despair and sorrow, they had carried the news of the events that have happened during the war. But little did the brothers come to realize that Lady Izumi, Lord Sig, and Sky had terrible news themselves.

"Guys, I know that you would've already figured out what happened to him, but… Our Father's dead…" Ed forced himself to say it without trying to break down into tears in front of his foster family. Then he lifted both the sleeve of his tunic and his pant leg to see that both his right arm and left leg were nothing but silvery metal, replacing all the pale flesh that was once there. He also shouted, "We also saw a huge amount of lives taken, and we lost almost everything except for a handful of our best soldiers! Al almost died out there on the battle field, and I lost both my arm and my leg because of that stupid war!"

They were all quiet for a few moments before Lord Sig replied, "Oh. We're very sorry for your loss. Your father was good man, as well as an excellent king and valiant soldier. May his soul forever rest in peace up in Heaven with Queen Trisha, for all eternity..."

Then Lady Izumi spoke up, "Yes, we're all sorry for what happened… But we also have terrible news ourselves…"

"What's going on? Did something happen while we were away, Lady Izumi? Is Petra doing okay?" Alphonse asked eagerly as he and Ed followed the Curtis family out into the castle gardens.

Lady Izumi sighed sadly and gazed at the two young boys staring back at her with eyes pleading her to break out the news when she replied, "Just yesterday, Doctor Marcoh and his apprentice, Sheska, found out and told us that there was something seriously wrong with your sister…"

"What happened?! What's wrong with her?! Is she dying?! TELL US!" both the boys shouted together with tears in their eyes.

Izumi then glanced at her husband, who nodded at her to continue, before she said, "Petra was born with a very weak heart, and she's also contracted some of the incurable illness that your Mother passed away from over a year ago. And the worst part is..."

She then felt her own tears spill out when she revealed, "There is no way of treating this illness, and Doctor Marcoh and Sheska have done the best of what they could for her…"

"So we can't do anything to help her now?" Ed asked, feeling himself losing his composure.

"I'm afraid so… I wish that I didn't have to say this, but… that's what happened." Lord Sig finished for his wife before everyone burst out crying.

Back in her room, Petra sat on her bed staring out the window and into the black, starry night sky. Unknown to the rest of them, she overheard and observed the entire scene out in the moonlit gardens below her room. As she pulled up a blanket to protect herself from the bitter cold, Petra then whispered to herself in a low voice loud enough for herself to hear, "No… Why did this have to happen again? Don't do this to me… Please… Why did have to be you? Mother… Father… Ed… Al… I'm sorry… I love you…"

With her golden amber coloured eyes glazed with tears, she then buried her face into her pillow, and the room became grimly silent, only to be broken up by the sound of her own muffled sobs, shallow breathing, and the one thing she screamed out in pure agony and pain before she sank deeper into her bed and felt her world blackened out.

"DON'T GO! Please… Don't leave me here all alone… I'm sorry…"

_**Author's Note:**__** Okay then, I admit defeat. I actually cried while I was writing and reading over this chapter. Especially at the last part too. ;'-( Now I just want to go and give Petra and her brothers a hug. *gives Petra, Ed, and Al a hug***_

_**Petra, Ed, and Al: *returns the hug* Thanks Egyptian Samurai.**_

_**Me: Hey, no worries guys. Anyways, the thing that Trisha tells her kids on her death-bed, "Always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear...", that special quote is from one of the best movies, (in my opinion), by the Legendary Studio Ghibli,"The Cat Returns". Such a good movie. I love Studio Ghibli, it's awesome. And a certain character we all know is going to make his very first appearance in the next chapter. If you want to guess who it is, feel free to do so. Remember to rate and review, and NO RUDE COMMENTS PLEASE, OR ELSE THEY WILL BE TAKEN DOWN THE MOMENT I SEE THEM!**_

_**Okay then, thank you so much for taking the time to read this chapter! I really appreciate all the support you guys are giving me. B'Bye for now, and see you all next time. ;-)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**__** Hey guys, it's Egyptian Samurai again. Since I'm all done my homework and nothing better to do, I thought that I could post this chapter today. :-) **_**_So yeah, heheheheh... AGAIN, I DO NOT OWN THE TWO HIT ANIME/MANGA SERIES OF "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST" OR "SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN" OR THE ORIGINAL FAIRY TALE OF "SNOW WHITE". THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR ORIGINAL OWNERS. THE ONLY THING THAT I OWN FROM HERE IS MY OC, OLIVIA. This is for entertainment purposes only! ;-)_**

**_Okay then, just to warn you guys, this chapter has quite a bit of dark moments and mild language in it, and if you guys have a hard time understanding what going on, then feel free to PM me and I'll try my best to explain it to you as simple as I can. Another thing you need to be aware for is more awkwardness and people "OOC" here, and I`ll try to keep the bad language here as mild/minimal as possible. And a certain bad guy will make his first appearance in this chapter too. ;-) Okie Dokie then, if we're all ready, then I'll leave you all to read the story, and here we go... _**

_**CHAPTER TWO: A Grim Desire and Equivalent Exchange…**_

_"Poor Petra. She and her brothers didn't deserve to suffer like that. I hope that things do get better for them soon." Elicia sighed sadly holding her head with her hands._

_"I agree. I mean, it's as if they didn't say or do anything to hurt anyone, and yet the world still punishes those kids by taking their mother away from them…" Nina nodded while her hand slowly stroked the back of Elicia's and Olivia's shoulders. _

_"Well who said that life was fair anyways? It almost never is…" Olivia leaned back in her spot on the couch._

_"Are you guys getting upset a bit? Because we can stop now if you want." Paninya asked with a look of concern on her face._

_"No, we can read a bit more. I think we can handle it, right?" That was the girls' only reply before Paninya continued with where they left off._

Despite her new daily routine of following Doctor Marcoh and Sheska's recommendations for keeping her illness under control, Petra never changed at all. She slowly grew used to Doctor Marcoh and Sheska's frequent visits and checkups to see what her health level is, updating on their recent discoveries and research on her diagnosis, and giving her the proper medicines and directions on how to keep her illness down. The young Princess also grew really close to her new family she was currently living with, and she still played with her brothers and their little adoptive brother, Sky. She also seemed to like having Sheska or her brothers around to keep her company, because of her having to stay in bed most of the time, with the rare occasion leaving the castle grounds. On some days, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted or hang around anyone of her choice just as long as she didn't go anywhere past the village gates.

The thing she loved doing most with her brothers was either playing games in the outdoors or was writing and singing songs since she sometimes loved to play music and sing on her spare time. Al often played the piano as Sky usually played the pan flute, while Ed strummed his fingers away over the strings of a mandolin. And Petra always used a harp on theses occasions, but she was the one who always had to do all the singing, since her brothers always bragged that she sung better than any of them. But whenever she did sing, Petra only did it in front her family, her brothers especially, or when she was alone because she seemed too shy or scared to sing for anyone.

And as each day passed by, the young Princess didn't seem to be weeping over her parents' unexpected death or sulking about the time when Al nearly lost his life and Ed lost both his right arm and left leg during the war as much as she used to. In fact, when everyone began to notice that Petra was slowly returning to her old self again, the one that always laughed and had a smile on her face, they all believed that her heart and spirit had finally begun to heal over time at last. And because of that, the people of Resembool was slowly starting to make a recovery from the many distant memories of their dreadful past, and turned around with a new perspective of their lives and began to look forward to the best of a possible bright future that might lie ahead of them.

But unknown to all, way beyond the dark forest and mountain range that acted as barriers that surrounded and protected the kingdom from invaders, there was a rare living creature that hid their unknown existence way up the northeastern borders of Resembool far away from human civilization. Up in that certain remote area, there was an abandoned fortress that this creature had taken refuge in with a few other members of the same species as he was.

This creature had the ability to change himself into any living person, animal, and he can even transform his limbs into weapons at will. He usually stayed in his human form if and whenever he does get spotted by the human eye, or he changed himself into another human or into wild animal so no one would recognize him. But whenever he is alone or with his gang of good for nothing friends he always hung around with, he either stayed in his regular human self or he changed into a hideous monstrous demon-like beast that no other living creature would even dare to attempt in approaching anywhere near him. And that was the way how he liked it. Well, sometimes he felt that way.

This creature's human form had long, jet black wispy hair, milky skin tone, and triangular-shaped violet-red catlike eyes with slit pupils. He usually wore a long deep warm gray tunic that had long sleeves, a pair of dark cool gray slacks along with a pair of open toed jet black sandals and matching long fingerless leather gloves, and a midnight blue robe that cut passed his knees, which was also trimmed with light gray and red and the robe also had a long shadowy hooded cloak sewn on it. The cloak itself had a silvery golden clasp with a blood-red ruby in the center and a transmutation circle engraved in it that held the hooded cloak in place, and he always wore a headband that matched perfectly with his black cloak that also had the same design on the back as the cloak's pendant did.

The creature was an artificial human being, rare species created through human transmutation by alchemy well-known as a Homunculus, and he was named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Envy. His friends were also Homunculi, just like him, and they were also named after the Seven Deadly Sins. So in total, all seven Homunculi, there was Envy, Lust, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, and Pride. Envy also had a blood-red Ouroboros tattoo, which was either a winged serpent or dragon biting its tail shows that the beginning and end of infinity are the same place. There was also a six pointed star right in the dead center of the tattoo as well, and Envy had it on the side of his left leg. All seven Homunculi had the same tattoo as Envy did, except that they all had them on different parts of their bodies.

But little did the other Homunculi know that there was but one thing that Envy had secretly desired for himself: He wanted to become a human and go up into a place that many people call 'Heaven' where souls go to when they die.

One day, while the other six Homunculi were away on a mission, Envy found a secret dark, cold metallic stone doorway in the basement of their fortress and as curiosity got the best of him, he used alchemy to open the double doors. And before him, there stood a being like he had never seen before. The being itself was pale, and it was so pale that it made Envy's skin tone look dark in comparison, and was a few feet shorter than him in height. It also had the appearance of a featureless young boy, as in no facial or physical features, nothing. But the thing about this being that caught Envy's eye was that the pale figure had cuffs on one of its wrists and one around one of its ankles that also dragged a long link of chains behind it.

When the being passed through the dark doorway, the chained cuffs to rattle to yank in their stiff positions, which caused forcing the pale being from moving any farther.

As Envy stared at the pale featureless being, a young raspy male voice called out, "Who are you supposed to be, and what do you want from me anyways?!"

Envy was stunned for a moment before he heard the voice call out again, "Yes you. I'm talking to you, you stupid mongrel." That was Envy realized that it was the pale, featureless being that was the one speaking to him.

"What are you saying? I'm not an idiot! I'm Envy, one of the Homunculi who was named after the Seven Deadly Sins." The dark-haired Homunculus replied in frustration. "I should be asking you the same thing. Who and what the hell are you?"

The pale featureless being then stared back at Envy and sneered at him, "Tsk! Well that's easy. I am an existence that many humans call 'Earth'. In some words, I'm known as God, and in other words, the Universe. I am One. I am All. And I am also… You… I am also known as 'Truth'… I thought that you would've been smart enough to figure that out on your own, but apparently not."

There was nothing but an empty silence before Truth spat out, "Anyways, what do you want from me, and why?"

Envy then remarked, "Simple. You know how Homunculi are artificial human beings, and how they are created through a forbidden method of using alchemy for human transmutation, right? So, I admit that I envy humans for who they are and what they're capable of…"

He paused for a split second before he continued, "What from you is that I want to know if there is away for Homunculi to change themselves into humans permanently and to enter their souls into a place many people like to call 'Heaven'. You know the place where people's spirits go when they die… I want to know if I can do that without having to use any means of alchemy or magic whatsoever."

Truth seemed bitten back by Envy's words. 'Should I really tell him?' Truth thought to himself. 'I honestly don't see why not...'.

Then Truth smiled a large, toothy grin before he said, "Well then… Indeed that's a very rare request that anyone would ever have the guts to ask of me. But if that's really what you want, then yes… there is a way…"

Eager to listen to more about how to make his desirable wish become a reality, Envy shouted, "Well tell me already! I need to know how I can become the Purest Human Being of them all!"

Truth only nodded in reply. "I see… Alright then, I'm willing to tell you only if you're willing to listen to what I'm about to say and to put in the actual time and effort into making your wish become a reality. If you do listen, then I have no problem telling you what I know…"

"Well get on with it already, will you?! Come on! I haven't got all day here, you know?!" Envy yelled back at Truth in pure rage.

"Patience, Envy. Patience! You really need to work on that." That was Truth's only reply. Then he continued, "Alright. In today's time, no one can gain anything without giving something in return first. In order to obtain something, something of equal value must be lost. That is the Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange."

"Yeah? So what do I have to do?" The young Homunculus asked as he felt his patience burning out fast.

"But in this case, you don't want to use magic or alchemy to do this, right? In order for a Homunculus like yourself to become a human, you have to assassinate ninety-nine other humans, and then hunt down and slaughter the Purest Human Being alive today. For each human you kill, that just adds a year to how long you live when you officially turn into a human. But when you do eliminate the Purest Human Being, that seals the amount of years you will live depending on how many humans you have slaughtered before you deal with the that soul in particular. And yes, it does cost a human life just for Homunculi to live one full year as a human. But it can cost the number of human lives and the Purest Human life in order to become a human permanently, depending how long you want to live as a human for…" Truth explained.

"So what do I have to do with it once I do catch a human? Is there a specific way that I must kill them?" Envy seemed confused about what he has to do.

"Ah yes, I was getting that part just now. First off, once you do find a human, you need to bring them down to their lowest point. As when they're in their most vulnerable state, it make them feel so weak and helpless up to a point where they feel as if don't see the point in living anymore. And an easy way of assassinating a human is to transform and imitate either your victim's loved ones or closest friends, and then use their hesitation to kill them." Then, Truth paused for a moment before he continued, "And then, depending on what humans you choose to prey on and how long it takes to get them into that stage, once you've got them, kill them however you want as quickly as possible. Finally, you need to devour three components of the human in the order I tell you. First, eat the soul, then swallow the human heart, and finally finish up with what's left of the human body."

Envy's eyes widened and mouth fell open in shock. "Seriously?! THAT'S IT?! But that's way too easy!"

Truth was bitten back by Envy's words. Then he said in reply, "Oh that's not as easy as you think it is. It could literally take years to do this. I highly recommend that you take care of the other ninety-nine humans first, before you run off to hunt down and kill the Purest Human. And that's because that the Purest Humans are usually the hardest ones to pinpoint among the most human-populated areas in the world. Humans also have a tendency to change themselves over time."

The room was nothing but a grim silence. Then Envy asked, "Well then who is the Purest Human of them all? Can you show me who it is?"

Truth only nodded as he slowly raised his hands up to his chest, and slowly held them up high and let them fall open as a bright glowing light appeared right above them. The flaming golden amber light grew bigger and glowed brighter, and then suddenly, it flashed so brightly that it blinded Envy, which caused him to shield his eyes with his arms. And then, an image of a young girl twelve years of age standing on an ivory castle balcony slowly appeared in the glowing light.

The girl had pale rosy lips, pure white skin tone, along with a warm pink blush that lightly brushed over her cheekbones, long dark golden brown hair that reached her shoulder blades was left loose, and a pair of amber coloured eyes with a hint of gold that glowed brightly like two fiery stars in the night sky. She was clothed in a long-sleeved white and cream-coloured dress made of silk and satin that reached a little ways past her ankles, while she had a star-shaped locket that had a tiny heart-shaped sapphire that hung on a long silvery golden chain around her neck along with a tiny matching pair of earrings. She also wore a simple snow-coloured small scarf as a headband and her feet were left bare. The young girl was cradling a silvery golden lyre in her arms as she lightly ran her delicate fingers over the strings, and she was softly singing to herself with a small smile on her face.

Envy stared right at the image of the young girl in the golden fiery light with a look of shock. "Whoa. So that's the Purest Human Being alive today? But who is she anyways?"

"That, Envy, is Petra Starlight Elric. She is the eldest daughter and heir of the Elric Clan, who is also the Royal Family of Resembool. Since her mother and father were the King and Queen of this kingdom, and her two younger brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, are the Princes, which makes the girl here a Princess. And yes, she is the Purest Human Being of them all…" Truth only stared back at Envy's face blankly.

As Petra's image in the fiery light faded away into nothing but darkness, Truth let his arms fall to his sides while he began to take a step backwards. And before Envy could stop him, Truth was already in the doorway when the heavy metallic stone double doors slowly but automatically slammed shut. The instant that Truth disappeared behind the doors, Envy felt a flash of anger and then he slammed a curled up fist into the ground, causing a crater to form in the stone floor. With each punch he threw into the ground, each blow only made the crater in the floor grow bigger, which seemed to help make him feel a little bit better about himself. He kept on punching and punching the crater until his anger vanished into thin air.

As he drew in a deep breath, Envy thought to himself, 'Okay then, this might take a lot of work and time, but hey, it'll be worth it all in the end. I might as well go on ahead and get started on this now before the other Homunculi get back.'

He then glanced outside the window, the aqua blue sky suddenly changed into different shades of red, orange, yellow, purple, and pink, which indicated that the sun was going down. The other Homunculi usually didn't come back to their fortress until a little after sunset, so Envy had a little bit of time to start planning on what he's supposed to do to become human.

Back at the Castle of Resembool, Sheska, Doctor Marcoh's apprentice and medical assistant, was heading up the stairs with Doctor Marcoh and his new second apprentice, Rio, to give Petra the medicine she requires for treating her illness. The sun had already disappeared beneath the horizon, and they thought that they could give their patient what she needed before they left for their home in the village.

Sheska was a girl in her late teens to early twenties who had short dark brown hair that reached a little ways past her neck she often either left loose or in a low ponytail, dark navy blue eyes, and chalky pale skin tone, and she also wore a simple small pair of silvery black reading glasses. This girl was clothed in a dark indigo hooded cloak, a deep olive-green long tunic, a dark brown leather belt with a small silver buckle that wrapped around her waist, and a pair of black slacks with matching open-toed strapped sandals. She often had a light brown leather pouch, which wrapped around her left leg, which contained some herbal medicines, her dagger, and a small journal that held medical record charts, maps, diagrams, and many other important topics.

Doctor Marcoh, who happened to be in his mid-fifties, had short black hair, pale skin tone, and onyx-coloured eyes, and he often wore a light gray long-sleeved shirt, a long snow-coloured coat, a pair of black pants and a matching pair of black leather boots. Not only did he work as a doctor, but he was also an alchemist, and he often taught Sheska and Rio how to be both the best alchemists and doctors they could possibly be.

And as for Rio, he was a young man who also happened to be around Sheska's age and he had dark brown hair, light tan skin tone, and deep chocolate-brown eyes. He often wore a similar attire to what Doctor Marcoh wore, except that the only difference was his shirt was a deep warm gray colour while the coat was a light cool shade of gray.

"Hey Doctor Marcoh? Would it be okay if Al, Sky, and I went with you to check on Petra? You know, to see if she's okay and if we can visit her for a little bit?" Ed asked, eager to find out more about Petra's condition.

The doctor only smiled as he replied, "Why of course you can. Just remember to keep your visits short and to keep your voice down at a reasonable level. She's supposed to be asleep in the next few moments anyways."

Sheska and Rio only nodded in reply as everyone now began to make their way up the marble white staircase. But then, as soon as everyone reached the top of the stairs and was halfway down through a hallway, they all heard a scream coming down from Petra's room. They all froze dead in their tracks when the sound of the scream reached their ears.

"Oh no! It sounds like Petra! I think she's in trouble! COME ON!" Sheska yelled as she felt her dark blue eyes widen in sudden realization.

Everyone then raced down the hallway as fast as they could, and when Ed and Al busted down the door to their sister's room together with one foot, and then they all gasped at what they saw as they froze in the doorway. Everything was out of its usual place: all the furniture was tipped over, there were some holes in walls, floor and ceiling while blood and glass was spattered everywhere, many accessories such as books, clothes, porcelain figurines, glass decorations, and many other valuables were destroyed and tossed around the room, and the curtains as well as the bed were ripped into shreds. But the one thing that caught everyone's eye which stood nearby a broken window was a tall, dark slim figure firmly trapping Petra in a headlock, crushing her neck with his arms. He made his hold around her neck tighter, which made the young Princess wince and cry out in pain. Both of her hands were on the figure's arm that was wrapped tightly around her neck while the figure used his other free hand to press her head and neck against the barriers of both his chest and his arm.

"STOP! PLEASE! LET ME GO! I'll DO ANYTHING!" Petra screamed out as she tried to fight the hot steamy tears that burned her eyes.

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND STOP SQUIRMING YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT!" The figure angrily snapped back at her.

Then, without a need for second thoughts, Sheska and Rio lunged at the figure in attempt to force him to drop the Princess, but it was no use. The dark figure only just dodged their attacks and then effortlessly caused them to fall to the floor with a single kick. But that wasn't over. Ed, Al, and Sky jumped at the figure as Sheska and Rio made a quick recovery and joined in on the fight. And then, the figure sent a flying fist into the dead center of Petra's face, which caused her to stop squirming and black out. Suddenly, the figure now holding the Princess carelessly like a lifeless ragdoll swung her over his shoulder and then bolted through the broken window with Sheska, Ed, and everyone else following in hot pursuit.

"Come on! Hurry up you slowpokes! Catch me if you can!" the figure glanced over his shoulder as yelled at the group of people chasing him in a mocking sing-song voice.

"Give her back, you monster! She's our sister!" Ed furiously shouted back as he and Al began to sprint full-speed ahead of everyone else in attempt to catch the figure. But when they were just within their sister's reach, the figure suddenly sped up and ran on and on as he got farther away from them.

"Let her go! She doesn't like being manhandled like that!" Al bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're almost there!" that was all the figure shouted before he suddenly vanished.

Then Ed, Al, and all the other people who were following them stopped where they were before they all found themselves falling and falling and falling until they crash-landed right into the courtyard bellow. As they all glanced up and struggled to get back up on their feet again, they all felt their eyes widen and jaws fall open in shock as they found the figure with Petra still swung over his shoulder standing on the very top of one of the castle watch towers.

"Oh my. You've given up already? Wow, you pathetic humans can be so lame sometimes." The figure said as he used one hand to pull back the hood of his jet black cloak to show his face. The figure's long jet black wispy hair flowed freely past his shoulders and the moonlight revealed the paleness of his face and the slit pupils of his violet-red catlike eyes. A wicked smirk spread across the young man's face as his grip around the unconscious Princess tightened while his eyes narrowed in mischief.

"Who are you, and what do want with our sister?! GIVE HER BACK NOW!" Ed growled as he rose to his feet and clenched his fists in pure hatred and anger.

"Sorry. But that's a no can do. But maybe we should do this again some other time. Well, I've got to get going now. Thanks for all the fun, I really enjoyed it! Adiós!" Then, the man jumped down from the watch tower with Petra, and then right before their eyes, they vanished.

Ed then dashed towards the wall of the watch tower where the figure held his sister captive right before he disappeared, and then the young Prince yelled at the top of his lungs as he flew a lot of flying fists into the wall. He felt tears drip down his face, but he didn't care. Petra Starlight, his older sister, and one of his closest friends, was just kidnapped by a psychopathic freak, and now because of him not being there to protect her, her life could be in jeopardy.

As everyone stood back and continued to watch him punch the side of the watch tower wall in pure agonizing rage, Al and Sky slowly approached a rampaging Edward and restrained him from the walls as best as they could. When Ed finally stopped thrashing his arms and legs around in attempt to get away from Al and Sky, he slowly sunk to his knees and began to sob. Then soon everyone was sobbing over Petra's unexpected kidnapping and sudden disappearance. After what seemed hours on end, Ed was able to calm down after having a huge meltdown, and then he stood back up again.

"What do we do now, Brother?" Al asked as he wiped away a few tears that remained in his eyes.

"We can't afford to just sit around and wait for that guy to come back. We're going after him right now, and we won't quit until we find Petra and bring her back home…" Ed replied with a stern look on his face while a wild-fire burned in his amber-golden eyes.

Everyone then nodded in agreement when Sheska pounded her fist into her open palm and said, "We might as well inform Lord Sig and Lady Izumi about this if we're all going to take part in this search together. The sooner we inform them, the better. And the more people we have involved, the better chances we have of finding Petra and saving her from that dangerous monster!"

"You're right. We'll go on and tell their Majesties at once, while the rest of you go and start your search for the Princess without Sheska, Doctor Marcoh and I. We'll catch up to you as soon as we can and we'll do the best we can to help you find her…" Rio added as he got up from the lush green grassy grounds and followed Doctor Marcoh and Sheska into the castle.

While he nodded back at the doctor and his two faithful students before they disappeared behind the castle doors, Ed then made his way out of the courtyard and past the castle gates and drawbridge with Al and Sky following closely behind him.

"Don't worry Petra…" Ed muttered aloud to himself as he saw the sun just beginning to peek above the horizon. He then stared up at the colourful sunlit morning sky as he continued, "No matter how far away you are from us right now, or how long it takes us to get there, we will find you and we will bring you back home…"

And with that, the news of Petra Starlight's kidnapping instantly began to quickly spread around the kingdom of Resembool like wildfire, and the search for the young lost Princess began anew…

_**Author's Note:**__** Phew. Whoa, that chapter was a lot longer than I originally thought, to be perfectly honest with you all. But some action finally happens here, YAY! XD HAHAHAHA! You all want to know who kidnapped Petra, right? Heheheheh, if you looked through the kidnapper's physical descriptions and characteristics near the end of this chapter, then I'll bet you all that you'll all instantly know who it is. And things just got worse for Petra! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! I know, I'm evil, right? Heheheheh... Anyways, things are going to get more intense in the next few chapters.**_

_**And Shingekinops4, one certain character will make his first appearance in the very next chapter. I promise you he will. :-) Okay then, as always, remember to Rate and Review, like positive reviews absolutely make my day! AND NO RUDE COMMENTS PLEASE, OR ELSE THEY WILL BE TAKEN DOWN THE MOMENT I SEE THEM! Okay then, thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it! B'Bye for now, and see you all next time! ;-)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: Hi guys, it's me again. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated on this story in over a month. I've been so busy with so much school and homework and even more school that IT'S NOT FUNNY! ;'-( **_

_**Not that I hate school, but you know what I mean, right? Anyways, to those of you who are currently following my story, thank you so much all of your great love, patience, and support, I really appreciate that. So yeah, heheheheheh... Again, as always, I DO NOT OWN THE TWO HIT ANIME/MANGA SERIES OF "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST" OR "SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN" OR THE ORIGINAL FAIRY TALE OF "SNOW WHITE". THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR ORIGINAL OWNERS. AND THE ONLY THING THAT I OWN FROM HERE IS MY OC, OLIVIA. This is for entertainment purposes only! ;-)**_

_**Okay then, if we're already, then be prepared to see more awkwardness and more people "OOC", and there's a LOT of talking and less action going on, which is slow. AND Shingekinops4, as I've promised you, and I kept it, one of your favorite characters will show up in this chapter. Okay then, now everyone just sit back and relax, and enjoy the show. And here we go... ;-) Enjoy.**_

_**CHAPTER THREE: Where There is Despair, There is Hope…**_

_"Eww… You mean to tell us that Envy's going to eat Petra alive? That's disgusting…" Olivia shuddered._

_"Whoa. I'm already beginning to hate Envy. He's so mean to Petra. First her parents died, then her brothers nearly die in the war and she gets really sick, and now a psychopathic monster like Envy kidnaps her?! I can't imagine being in her position right now." Nina shook her head in disbelief._

_"Yeah me too. Life can be so unfair at times." Elicia and Olivia nodded in agreement._

_"I hope that either she will save herself or that someone like Ed, Al, or Sky will come and save her," Elicia sighed sadly._

_"Well let's turn the page and find out." Paninya quickly scanned the page and continued reading out loud from where she left off._

By the time he got back into the basement of the fortress, the sun was already beginning to rise, signifying that morning had already come. Envy stormed in through the doors of the fortress with the young Princess limp and unconscious and was still swung over his shoulder and he was already having a horrible start to his day. The sound that was to be heard was the sound of Envy's stomping footsteps against the stone cold floor, his sharp breathing, and him grumbling under his breath. Since those were the only sounds being heard, the place was way too quiet indicating that the other six Homunculi had not yet returned to the fortress from whatever they were doing the other day. When he tossed her to the ground in front of Truth, who was already standing in front of the opened Door of Truth waiting for his return, Petra was suddenly woken up by the loud sickening thud of her landing and suddenly cried out in fear.

"GET UP!" The young Homunculus barked at the girl ferociously.

Slowly but painfully, Petra rose to her feet and she was able to steady herself. She felt chilling shivers slowly crawling up and down her spine, and her body felt so weak that she nearly fell over again as she struggled to stand up on her own. When her gaze met Envy's cold, lifeless glare, Petra barely heard herself gasp as she felt tears stream down her face and a hand flew straight for her mouth. When she raised the other one up to hide her face, she instantly realized that she wasn't where she hoped she was.

"Where am I? Why did you bring me here?! What do want with me?!" Petra shouted at Envy as she felt more tears roll down her cheeks.

But right before Envy could answer her, Truth snapped angrily, "ENVY! What the hell have I told you about dealing with the other ninety-nine humans first before you eliminate the Purest Human Being?!"

"It's nothing, alright?!" Envy roared back at Truth. "I just wanted to make sure that I got the HER out of the way first because I tend to forget about doing those things before I go on with doing the next task! Is that reason good enough for you?!"

Truth only stared blankly at Envy and Petra. Then Truth turned to Petra and gestured her to follow him. Hesitating on what to say or do next, Petra slowly stepped away from Envy in fear and began to take tiny baby steps towards the Door of Truth with her golden-amber eyes never leaving the pale featureless figure.

Envy then began to protest, "Hey you stupid girl, you get back-"

"Na-ah-ah. She only listens to me now. And she will stay here with me until you have eaten the soul, heart, and body of all the other ninety-nine humans before you devour her. But until then, you can't do anything to her, or else you will have to answer TO ME! YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" That was Truth's only reply before he and Petra stepped through the Door of Truth.

When the Doors closed behind them, there was nothing but grim silence that filled the small, empty room. Petra was shaking like crazy and she was shivering from the bitter cold of the room since she only wore her pearly-white satin nightgown and her feet were left exposed. Compared to the rest of her small body, which felt like sub-zero, the only place she felt warm was around her neck since her long dark golden brown hair was left loose, letting it flow down freely past her neck and shoulder blades. She felt more hot steamy tears burn her eyes as they continued to stream down the sides of her face.

Gathering up all the courage she could muster, the young Princess finally asked, "Who are you supposed to be? And what does that guy want with me anyways?"

"Allow me to explain, Princess…" Truth replied.

When Truth finished explaining to Petra about Envy being named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins and living as a Homunculus, his grim desire to become a human, and what he has to do to become a human, she felt her blood freeze in her veins. But the one fact that made her fall to her knees and break down crying was the one where she was the Purest Human Being alive, and that she was the last human that Envy has to kill and devour to become a human permanently. And the thought of Envy willing to kill so many innocent people just to have his wish become a reality, and she was one of those people that were going to die a horrible death because of that only just made her sob even harder. Truth sighed sadly, knowing that what he just told her was the horrifying truth about what Envy wants with her, as he slowly wrapped his arms around the weeping Princess in comfort.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told him… and now look what I've done. You were taken away from your family… your previous life… and brought all the way up here… away from what's left of your home. This is all my fault... I'm so sorry." Truth gently stroked the top of the girl's head, combing his fingers through her long, soft golden brown hair. "If I kept my mouth shut at that time, then none of this would've happened. I just wrote your death sentence, and now I wish I didn't do it…"

After Petra finally managed to get herself to calm down a little bit, she glanced up at Truth's featureless face as she then asked, "What can I do to prevent this from happening? To save those people that Envy plans to kill and devour?"

Truth was silent for a moment before he answered, "Unfortunately, now that foolish Homunculus knows what to do to desperately change himself into a human, there's no way of stopping him… however… I can tell you that there is one thing that could stop him, and that is using either water, fire, alchemy, or constantly stabbing him with a blade to defect his ability to fight. And then when you've weakened him just enough, if you happen to still have a dagger or some kind of sharp blade with you, then raise the blade and keep on stabbing him in the left-hand side of his chest area until he drops dead."

"What else can this guy do?" Petra asked.

"And just so you are aware, Envy has the ability to change himself into any other person or animal at will. He can even change his limbs into weapons. He often uses his shape shifting ability when it comes to tormenting and killing other people just for his own amusement. One way to tell that it's him in disguise of whatever he is it that if he ends up losing one of his limbs or has a single scratch inflicted upon him, then both the limb that has been cut off will instantaneously grow back to the way it was before and the wound will heal in even less than half a second. Plus, another way to tell a Homunculus apart from humans is that Homunculi can't bleed." Truth replied.

He also said, "However… I can't promise you what will happen, but something tells me it will be a long time before you even get the slightest chance of escaping from this place, let alone Envy's wrath. Also, whatever you do, don't say or do anything that will make him very angry with you. And you'd be surprized on how easy it is for Envy to lose his temper and take his rage out on you. But until you do find a way to escape from Envy forever, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe for as long as I am able."

Petra felt slightly relieved that there was a slim chance of hope of that she might survive as more tears streamed down her face.

"Thank you… Truth…" that was all she was able to muster before she smiled to herself and fell into a deep and comfortable sleep for the first time that day since her kidnapping. Truth then took the sleeping Princess into his arms, waved his arm at one of the walls in the small, empty room, which caused a bright electric blue light to appear. He then quickly stepped through it, and then the light disappeared into thin air right behind him as he stared at the new room he was now standing in.

The room itself had a tiny cot that was covered with torn light brown bed sheets and a small gray pillow, a small side table that stood next to the bed with a lit candle on it, a stone fireplace that was lit up with roaring amber flame inside, and a little wooden bench that hung against the side of one of the stone walls. There was also a wooden door that had a little window with metal bars on it, and above the bench was another window that let the golden sunlight pour through the window's jet black tattered open drapes and into the room.

"Luckily this room isn't too shabby, and it could be a bit better, but I guess it will have to do, since this is the best I could possibly offer to her. She will either have to take it or leave it at that…" Truth muttered to himself as he crossed the room and placed the sleeping Princess in his arms into the cot.

When he knelt down beside the cot and pulled the tattered light brown blanket over Petra's sleeping form and up to her shoulders to keep her warm, Truth suddenly felt his fingers shaking out of control and his body tensed as he stared at her pale face. He gently used one finger to brush a lock of her hair out of her closed eyes, and he felt a wave of regret and sadness wash over him.

Then, as if he was hoping that she heard him in her sleep, he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Petra… Even though I don't want to get your hopes up too soon, I will do everything I can to keep my promise that I just made to you. I won't go back on my word…"

And with that, he rose to his feet as he turned to face one of the walls of the room and waved his hand at it to activate the same bright electric blue light that he stepped through earlier. He glanced over his shoulder to catch one last glimpse of the beautiful sleeping Princess and felt his grieving outweigh every single thought that lurked through his dense mind. Then, he faced the wall and hurried through the light without looking back as he silently prayed for the girl's well-being and for the day that she will find a way to escape from this dreary place and back to her family to come around soon…

The next morning, when they heard about what happened the previous night, Lord Sig and Lady Izumi were devastated. They immediately gathered around as many people in their kingdom as they could and then everyone, including Ed, Al, Sky and his parents, and of course Doctor Marcoh and his apprentices, was sent out on a frantic search for Petra Starlight. The kingdom searched and searched everywhere: the village, the forest, the farmland orchards and meadows, the hills and valleys, the mountains, literally everywhere! Even some citizens and both the Royal Families of the two neighbouring kingdoms of Maiagaru and Xing came in to Resembool to offer help and do what they could in finding the Princess.

Five years had passed since that sorrowful night of Petra Starlight's disappearance, and the search continued for many endless nights in a row, but no one was able find any evidence or clues that might be a step closer to finding her. Unfortunately, no one could find their beloved Princess or the identity of her captor, and then eventually most of them turned around and fell into an icy despair and lost all hope, believing that Petra had died a horrible death sometime after she was kidnapped. But only few people didn't give up hope, and those few people were the Royal Family of Resembool, Doctor Marcoh and his two apprentices, and the Royal families of Xing and Maiagaru. Despite the many times people advised them to surrender on their search, they refused to let anything or anyone stand in their way of searching for the Princess. But the ones who were the most determined to find Petra and bring her back home her little brothers, Ed, Sky, and Al.

Around this time, the Royal Family of Maiagaru, King Roy Mustang, Queen Riza Hawkeye, and their three children, Prince Levi, Prince Farlan, and Princess Isabel, invited Ed and his family and friends over to their kingdom to stay for a visit. While they were up there, King Roy and Queen Riza told Ed and everyone else who accompanied him that two of their three children, Farlan and Isabel, who were also the youngest members in the family, were diagnosed with the same illness that both Queen Trisha and Petra had. As time went by, the illness that Queen Trisha died from and that Petra was diagnosed with became known as the Irresolute Pulmonary Disease, or better known as the Serpent's Venom.

One day, after staying up late for many endless nights in a row on research and testing, Sheska, with the help of Doctor Marcoh and Rio, succeeded on finally finding a cure for the Serpent's Venom. When the news of the new antidote for the Serpent's Venom spread around the three kingdoms of Maiagaru, Resembool, and Xing, many people who were diagnosed with the illness began gathering around in the town market place and the Castle of Shiganshina Village with their friends, family, and their other fellow citizens. All of these people did this just to try and either gain more information about the cure or purchase some of it, since they were so desperate in trying to get rid of their diagnosis for good. Then, the more people knew about the antidote for the Serpent's Venom, the demands for it increased rapidly as the prices for it raised high in numbers.

Fortunately, there was enough of the antidote for all the people who were gravely ill to have, and they were all able to purchase and use it. And then, miraculously, everyone within the three kingdoms who had received the antidote, including Prince Farlan and his little sister, Princess Isabel, were instantly cured! Then, to celebrate the day of discovering the cure for the Serpent's Venom, a great holiday was proclaimed throughout all three kingdoms. During the time of this particular celebration, however… Disaster stuck once again…

The Serpent's Venom broke out once again, and this time it spread throughout a region way up the northern borders of Resembool. Within the part of that particular region of the kingdom, in between the eastern dark forest and the mountain range laying in the west, there lay a small community by the name of Hyōsetsu City.

Now, not only was it surrounded by darkness and shadows throughout most of the day, but this particular town was located in a glacial-like valley that is under a constant cover of dark storm clouds, icy snow and frozen rain falls, and thick wisps of fog and swirling chinooks that gently nipped at any exposed skin of any human passing through this northern arctic-like region. That being said, of course the cold weather conditions made it difficult for the citizens of this local town to hunt any animals they could find, which was hardly seen by the human eye, and to grow crops and orchards for food and economics. In fact, it seems as though Hyōsetsu City hardly ever gets any heat, sunlight and/or summer-like weather at all, and whenever that would happen, it would only last up to two or three months in the year at the most while the other nine to ten months fell into an endless winter cycle, which only happens once every year.

Anyways, in spite of the cold weather, the people of this town were already struggling to live a stable life, but the spread of the Serpent's Venom only just made things worse for everybody who lived there. So, the mayor of Hyōsetsu City then decided to extend a message out to King Roy and Queen Riza that the Serpent's Venom had broken out again and had spread throughout their town and region and that they were in desperate need of help. When he heard this, Doctor Marcoh and his two faithful students, Rio and Sheska, discussed the issue amongst each other as well as with the King and Queen. And then together, they all formulated a plan to help the people of Hyōsetsu City. The plan was to have Doctor Marcoh, his two students, and four other trusted allies travel up to that particular community together as a group and stay up there for a few days while delivering some of the antidote for the Serpent's Venom to the town as well as some other goods such as food, water, medicine, and some other valuable supplies for the townspeople.

_A few days later…_

Before they left for Hyōsetsu City with Doctor Marcoh, Rio and Sheska were in the Royal Castle Library with Ed, Al, and their family friend, Ling, the young Prince of Xing, in deep discussion on what to expect while traveling to a distant city like Hyōsetsu City in a foreign region in Resembool. They also pondered on the plan in full detail as well as some other important topics such as the following things… There was some brief mentions of alchemical formulas plus transmutations that are being used as useful sources of creation and destruction, basic survival and combat skills. And they even got in on some recent stories of people of a small town within the northeastern borders of Resembool called Marosina either disappearing or winding up dead, and course some more updated information on the Homunculi as well as Petra's whereabouts.

During the discussion, Rio and Sheska of course sat next to each other and across from Ling and the Elric Brothers. Ed shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he ran his teeth over his bottom lip and stared down at a piece of sand-coloured parchment paper that was covered from top to bottom with jet black ink sat that was formed into scribbles and cursive handwriting, which just sat right before him and stared blankly back at him. He felt beads of sweat pour down his forehead and the sides of his face as he wiped them away with one swipe of the back of his right hand. He was also clothed in a long-sleeved navy blue shirt, a pair of black pants with a matching pair of black boots which were lined with a deep red and a long-sleeved hooded blood-red cloak as he had his golden blonde hair tied back into a loose, messy braid.

As for Al, he sat next to Ed staring at his brother with a worried expression on his face while he ran his fingers through his short dirty blonde hair. He too was clothed in a deep grayish blue long-sleeved tunic, a pair of dark gray pants, and a pair of dark brown leather combat boots as well as a long-sleeved dark blue hooded coat. And as for Ling, he was a young man around Ed's age, who had slanted onyx coloured eyes, pale skin tone, and long jet black hair that reached out to his shoulder blades which was often pulled back into a low, loose ponytail with a snow coloured hair tie. He wore the exact same attire as Ed and Al did, except that for the fact that it was all black. Not only did he have a huge appetite and was the heir to the throne of Xing, but Ling was also taller than Ed as well.

As the discussion rambled on, Ed felt his face and entire body break out into another unexpected cold sweat while Al continued to watch his brother with concern written all over his face. Ling only just flashed a toothy grin at the Elric Brothers as he lazily leaned back in his seat and took a huge bite into a fresh deep green apple. Since they were the ones who knew what was going on according to the plan they made with Doctor Marcoh and King Roy and Queen Riza, Rio and Sheska took turns with each other as they did most of the talking. Rio sometimes made sure that Ed, Al, and Ling were paying close attention to what he and Sheska were saying by asking them if they understood everything on what was going to happen a few days away from now and was happy to explain anything if and when it was made necessary to do so. Everything was going nice and smoothly for everyone who took part in this important discussion until suddenly…

"WHAT?! Are you saying that your three childhood friends, Winry, Lan Fan, and May Chang, said that they recently saw Petra while they were visiting some relatives way up in Marosina Village?! Whoa… I mean, that's just crazy! What else did they say in the letter that they sent to you guys?" Rio shouted at the top of his lungs in shock.

Ed nervously gulped as he quickly scanned the letter that lay open in his hand for some valid information before he answered, "Winry not only said that she, Lan Fan, and May saw Petra just outside of their village and then disappeared into thin air again a few days ago, but there are some other strange things going on around up there… As it turns out that the Serpent's Venom broke out there and a ton of people who lived in the village have recently died from it, plus there's a rumor going around that a serial murderer from Ishval is on the loose."

He paused for a moment before Al continued on Ed's behalf, "But what's even weirder is, before the Serpent's Venom broke out again, is that four kids from the village and two young female soldiers who serve in the Military have disappeared around three days ago. And that they also saw these huge man-eating beasts which some people like to call 'Titans' lurking around in the forest, fields and mountain range near the village gates. May also believes that she and some of the other villagers saw who Petra's kidnapper was, and that they think that they have figured out where he is keeping her, and have formulated a plan on how to save her from that 'thing' that took her away from us five years ago."

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment as they all exchanged glances with each other with wide eyes at what they just heard.

"Is there something else wrong, Ed? You seemed to be shaking for a really long time now." Ling asked as he finally gulped down the last bite of the sour green apple he finished snacking on.

Everyone now stared at Ed with worried expressions on their faces as he only remained silent for what seemed like an eternity until he finally replied with a question, "Sheska? Rio? Since this is the first time that Al, Ling, and I are traveling to different part of Resembool with you guys… Are there moments that you get the feeling that something might go wrong, even though you spend so much effort planning ahead of time for whatever might happen down the road and have done several times before, when an unexpected incident suddenly occurs? And if so, how high are those chances?"

Rio and Sheska felt their jaws fall open in shock as they stared back at Ed with confused expressions on their faces. But then Sheska replied, "I'm honestly not all that sure. Now whenever Rio and I go on these missions with Doctor Marcoh to help whoever requests for our assistance, we never really know what to expect. But so far, nothing severe that we weren't prepared for has occurred, yet anything could happen on these missions. So we can't promise you if anything in our plan will go wrong, but the chances are really small and what I'm trying to say is that we need to be prepared for what the future holds."

Rio then took over, "Now, do we all understand on what will happen over the course of the next few days, and what to be ready for?"

Everyone else only just nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good." Rio paused and smiled before he continued, "So now all we need to do is to find one more person who's willing to give up some of their precious time to help us on this mission, and then we're pretty much ready to go." He then turned to Sheska. "Who do you think should come with us, Sheska?"

Sheska adjusted her reading glasses with her index finger as she said, "I don't know… I was originally thinking about asking Levi if he's interested in coming with us, but-"

Before she had the chance to fully answer Rio's question, Ed felt a pulsing vein on his forehead grow in size as he rose up from his seat and shouted, "NO! NO WAY! Why do you even want to bother asking Prince NeatFreak?! Because the last time I checked, that idiotic jerk-face wasn't into doing these kind of-"

"What the HELL did you just say, you rotten little brat?!" a smooth, husky voice called out of nowhere that made everyone jump at least five inches out of their seats.

Then, everyone turned around as their gaze landed on someone was standing in the doorway to the library. The person who was leaning against the side of the doorway was a young man who looked between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, and he had pale skin tone, a pair of dark gray eyes with a hint of icy blue, and he also had short, straight raven black hair that barely reached halfway down the nape of his neck. He was clothed in a navy blue tunic that had pure white long sleeves, a pair of jet black pants as well as a matching pair of jet black leather boots and hunting gloves that nearly reached halfway up his forearms. There was also a jet black leather belt with a small silver buckle that wrapped around his waist, and there was also a sword with a bluish black handle and a long silvery sharp blade sealed away in its sheath. The sword itself was strapped to his back with a second black leather belt that wrapped around both his shoulder and chest area, and he also had a long dark forest green hooded cloak with a small piece of silvery fabric in the shape of a shield with two wings, one black and one white, sewn on the back as it hung tightly around his neck and shoulders.

This young man not only had his arms crossed over his chest, but he also had a stern scowl on his face while his eyes were filled with nothing but pure irritation. His mouth was formed into a very thin, straight line as he continued to glare at everyone in the room. And then he only raised an elegant eyebrow at them as he spat out, "Well, Ed? Don't you have something to say for yourself?"

Ed and Al gulped again as they felt everyone's gaze land on them, but they struggled to ignored that as they just stared back at the young man with fear in their eyes. Finally, Al managed to reply, "I'm sorry, Levi! Brother didn't mean it! Right Ed?"

Sensing trouble nearby, Sheska quickly spoke up, "Don't worry about what Edward just said, Levi. He's just concerned about what will be going on over the next few days, that's all. Anyways, how long have you been standing there, and how much of the discussion and plan have you heard?"

The look on Levi's face then softened up somewhat as he gave Sheska a small smile and brushed his bangs out of his eyes with a hand while he nodded, "I was out here the whole time, and in case you were wondering, yes, I've heard every single word of the entire discussion from start to finish."

"Okay then, since you've heard everything, are you interested in coming with us on this mission? Doctor Marcoh said that we only need one more person we can trust, and your mother and father shouldn't have a problem with that." Rio said as he slid an arm around Sheska's shoulder.

Levi then smiled one more time as he nodded again, "Alright then. I'll come with you guys, just as long as 'Shorty' here behaves himself so that Alphonse won't have to worry about him causing any more trouble than we can handle." He then frowned again as he pointed his index finger at a flustered Ed.

Then Ed charged at Levi and tackled him to the ground as he shouted at the top of his lungs in fury, "DON'T CALL ME SMALL! OR I'LL BREAK OFF YOUR FEET AND STICK'EM ON YOUR HEAD, PRINCE NEATFREAK!"

Levi then glared at Ed and then effortlessly pinned him to the warm, wooden floor with one hand as he hissed angrily, "Shut the hell up and take that back, FullMetal Pipsqueak!"

And before long, Ed and Levi were drawn into an intense fist fight with each other as more ugly tension filled up the library. Rio, Sheska, Al, and Ling just stood aside and watched the brawl in confusion wondering what to say or do next, with the occasion of having to move aside and whatnot since there were many books flying everywhere. Ed grabbed an armload of heavy, hardcover books and began tossing them one book at a time at Levi, who dodged them with little to no effort. Levi too began to grab as many library books that were near him, and he of course threw them at Ed, just barely missing him by an inch or two. Then, Ed tried to throw another book at his opponent, Levi simply ducked and the book ended up whacking Ling right in the center of his face, who tumbled backwards and fell to the ground with a muffled, "OOF!"

Both Ed and Levi froze dead in their tracks with scared expressions on their faces as they helplessly watched Ling slowly rise to his feet and glared at them, yelling, "OH WHY YOU LITTLE-"

And with that, all three Princes, Ling, Levi, and Ed, continued right from where they left off in their little fighting fiasco, fully unaware that this wasn't making the situation any better. If anything, all the fighting between the three Princes was making everything worse than it was before. Sheska stood back as far away from the fight as she could with Al and Rio while a shocked expression was written upon her face. Then, as the fight continued onwards, Al, Rio, and Sheska tried to hold back themselves from laughing at what they were watching, but they all failed. And before they knew it, they all found themselves on the ground howling with laughter while clutching their sides with their hands with tears streaming down their flushed faces.

"Oh boy! What a bunch of stupid idiots! Aren't those three ever going to get along with each other?!" Rio tripped on his words as he continued to laugh his head off.

After the three of them finally managed to calm down a little bit, Sheska replied, "I don't know. I know that Ling gets along with the both of them just fine, but I'm not so sure about Edward and Levi though…"

Al only sighed heavily as he shook his head and smiled, raising an eyebrow disapprovingly at the thought of three Princes fighting with each other and chuckled to himself, "Something tells me that this mission is not going to end very well. Especially for those three idiotic morons here…"

**_Author's Note: HAHAHAHA! WOO-YEAH MAN! XD I literally died of laughter as I was writing the ending, especially at the part where the fist fight actually happens and that last line that Al says. XD I also thought that it would be hilarious if Ed and Levi met in real life, and that their relationship would be kind of like a friendly rivalry, I guess. Heheheheh... Okay then, for those of you who don't know, Shiganshina(?) is a name of a place in SnK, and I used some Japanese word for the names of some of the places in this story because I couldn't think of anything else better. And for Marosina, that was a name for a village, and I combined the names of the Walls in SnK (Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina), to create this name in particular.  
_**

**_Ex.) Maiagaru is the Japanese word for "Soar", and Hyōsetsu is also the Japanese word for "Ice and Snow"._**

**_Oh, and one more thing before I forget AGAIN: Remember to Rate 'N Review, and NO RUDE COMMENTS PLEASE, OR ELSE THEY WILL BE TAKEN DOWN THE MOMENT I SEE THEM!_**

**_And there are some things that I've left out because I wanted to keep this chapter at a reasonable length. Ex. Why hasn't Sky been here much, and where is he? What is Envy up to now? Will Truth be able to keep Petra safe from Envy, or will he fail? And finally, will Petra be able to save herself, or will someone come and save her? Well, some of these questions will be answered in the next few chapters. Anyways, thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story, I really appreciate all the love and support you're giving me. And you have no idea how much that means to me. Well, B'Bye for now, and see you all next time. Stay awesome Bros! ;-)_**


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